When will the college tuition bubble burst?

[Anonymous]

It seems like at some point charging $400k (or whatever price point) for a middle of the road private undergrad is going to harm a university's ability to recruit students. Especially as incomes remain stagnant. Any predictions on how tuition prices will stabilize?

[Anonymous]

Never. There are enough people willing to pay that.

[Anonymous]

My oldest child graduated from high school in 2010. The tuition bubble was being discussed back then.

[Anonymous]

IDK but we make close to 300k and aren’t sending our kids to private schools because we think the tuition is ridiculous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oldest child graduated from high school in 2010. The tuition bubble was being discussed back then.

+1

[Anonymous]

There are millions of graduates every year and only a few thousand colleges. You do the math. They could charge $1,000,000 for four years of college and still find enough candidates.

[Anonymous]

It’s only a bubble for the small percentage of people who actually are full pay. Most people fill out the FAFSA and there is an upper limit to what they are asked to pay.

[Anonymous]

It is driven by the insecurity of the upper classes in the US, desperate to get their kids on the right path.

It will keep getting worse unless we change our economic system to one that avoids this winner takes all economy.

[Anonymous]

Probably about the time I make my last tuition payment for my youngest child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s only a bubble for the small percentage of people who actually are full pay. Most people fill out the FAFSA and there is an upper limit to what they are asked to pay.

Upfront. A heavy percentage of FAFSA aid is loans, not grants.

[Anonymous]

If it weren't for the pandemic, I would have said the tuition is never going to go backwards, but it shouldn't surge ahead with the same speed it has done for the past 10 -20 years, but given the pandemic I'd also say all bets are off. There are some colleges that will close and others where they'll tread water for a while and then continue to bring the cost of attending up, incrementally.

This is only my opinion though, I'd love to know what others think on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IDK but we make close to 300k and aren’t sending our kids to private schools because we think the tuition is ridiculous!

Same. Some friends of ours just announced on Facebook that their daughter go into Duke, where I’m pretty sure they’ll be full pay and my initial thought was “Suckers”. Ours is going to a small public for less than a third of the price and has a better chance to do research and eventually end up in med school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is driven by the insecurity of the upper classes in the US, desperate to get their kids on the right path.

It will keep getting worse unless we change our economic system to one that avoids this winner takes all economy.

This.

[Anonymous]

The high cost of tuition is driven by the availability of federal loans to fund it. The Department of Education could put a brake on the rising costs by imposing rules on schools for eligibility, including limiting the price tag, for tuition or for other expenses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IDK but we make close to 300k and aren’t sending our kids to private schools because we think the tuition is ridiculous!

Same. Some friends of ours just announced on Facebook that their daughter go into Duke, where I’m pretty sure they’ll be full pay and my initial thought was “Suckers”. Ours is going to a small public for less than a third of the price and has a better chance to do research and eventually end up in med school.

This is why I no longer post on Facebook. Why bother when it turns people into bitter jealous strivers like this?